"The Kid From Akron," as LeBron James often calls himself, grew up in the small Ohio town alongside his mother, Gloria James, who had him when she was just 16, per The Guardian. LeBron's father, Anthony McClelland, had a long criminal record and wasn't around, evidenced by the fact that LeBron doesn't carry his name. This experience inspired LeBron to give his son his full name, a decision he now regrets, LeBron said on HBO's "The Shop: Uninterrupted." "I still regret giving my 14-year-old my name. When I was younger, obviously, I didn't have a dad. My whole thing was, whenever I have a kid, not only is he gonna be a junior, but I'm gonna do everything this man didn't do."
A year after giving birth to LeBron, Gloria's grandmother died, followed by her mother just six months after, per The Guardian. LeBron had very little consistency in his life. "I saw drugs, guns, killings; it was crazy," an 18-year-old LeBron told The Guardian. Of his school's 162 days, he missed 100. Around that time, LeBron's sport wasn't basketball, but football, which he played in school.
It was his coach, Frank Walker, who offered him and Gloria a break when he asked her if the boy could live with him. Gloria knew what was best for her only child. "My life changed. I had shelter and food," LeBron said of Walker, whom he credits with introducing him to basketball.
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